


caught up in ten feet of water

by ShyAudacity



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Massage, Mentioned FP Jones II, Mentioned Kevin Keller, Minor Injuries, Missing Scene, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Past Character Death, and they were ROOMMATES, but like not in a weird way, let me know if i should add more tags i guess, oh yeah kevin/joaquin is only mentioned sorry bout it, set in the middle of 3x05, warden norton and jason blossom also mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18935155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: “Joaquin?”“Yeah?”“… do you think Mad Dog is really dead?”This rattles Joaquin so suddenly that he’s no longer tired.ORA missing moment from 3x05 between Archie and Joaquin.





	caught up in ten feet of water

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everytuesday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everytuesday/gifts).



> This is a ship I didn't know I needed in my life and also the only thing I've been able to finish in nearly two months so uhhhhhh yeah idk.
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from Help Me Now by Kevin McHale.

It’s forty minutes after lights out when Archie decides he wants to strike up a conversation and Joaquin just wants to get some damn _sleep_.

“Joaquin?”

“Yeah?”

“… do you think Mad Dog is really dead?”

This rattles Joaquin so suddenly that he’s no longer tired.

Joaquin had moved rooms three days ago after Mad Dog… left, and it’s been weird, so to speak. Archie is fine for the most part. He talks a bit more than Joaquin’s used to- reminds him of Kevin in that way- but he’ll take that over his last roommate who used to leave him bleeding on the floor after a match. There’s still a shiner surrounding his eye from his last one.

The wiring beneath his thin mattress creaks when he sits up. “What’s it matter?” Joaquin says flatly, “He’s not here.”

_Probably better that way_ , he thinks to himself, _at least he won’t have to fight these idiots anymore._

“Just wondering… weirder stuff has happened around here.”

“What? Like Zombies?”   

Archie sits up and says, “Like people not actually being dead when we think they are.”

Joaquin has a flashing, bone-chilling memory of himself and FP Jones wrapping Jason Blossom in plastic, the gunshot wound on his forehead standing out like a bloody, bright red target. The thought of him climbing out of that freezer- or out of his _grave_ , now- sounds worse than any nightmare he’s ever had.

A shiver spreads across his shoulders and down his arms before he can stop it.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Joaquin bites; Archie asks him that about a dozen times a day and still can’t seem to take a hint.

“I got a pullover if you’re cold.”

“I said I’m fine, Red.” Joaquin lies down again, rolling over and staring at the wall. If he’s lucky, Archie will stop trying to play twenty questions with him and let him sleep. This position isn’t as comfortable as it usually is. The limp pillow under his head is pressing into his cheek and aggravating his bruise. It’s hard to focus on much else when something hurts.

Joaquin rolls over again in an attempt to get comfortable. He finds himself staring at the back of Archie’s head. There’s just enough light coming in from outside that he can make out Archie’s silhouette. His whole body is pulled tight into an odd shape with one of his knees pulled up to his chest. He’s got his arms pulled up over his head like it’s going to protect him from a night riot or a middle of the night inspection.

After his last fight a couple of days ago, Warden Norton slipped Joaquin a switchblade and said that the ascension was near, that _Archie_ was the one to set his sights on when the time comes. He hasn’t been playing Gryphons and Gargoyles very long, a few weeks at most, but he’s seen first hand how nuts these guys around here get over this game. He’s even noticed the guards volunteering to join in on an inmate’s game more than once.

The thought of using the knife on Archie now after he’s been so adamant to help Joaquin despite everything makes him feel sick to his stomach.    

His cot suddenly feels much more lonely and twice as wide as it did a second ago. 

Joaquin weighs his options. On one hand, he’s never been much of a touchy-feely, _cuddler_ type; Kevin tried dozens of times to get him to stay after one their hookups so they could just lay there together, but as much as he tried to, Joaquin couldn’t get into it. On the other hand, something about the way that Archie is holding himself makes Joaquin want to go over there and squeeze him until he melts into a relaxed state.

On a whim, he goes with the latter.

The mattress creaks again when he stands up. The concrete is cool against his bare feet and makes him want to curl his toes in. Joaquin sits on the edge of Archie’s cot and pushes at his shoulder.

“Roll over.”

Archie looks up over his shoulder at him with squinted eyes.  “What the hell-?”

“You’re too tense and you’ve gotta fight tomorrow. I know a trick, now just roll over and let me help.”

With a huff, Archie rolls over onto his stomach; with a hesitant hand, Joaquin digs his palm into the meat of Archie’s shoulder and drags it down to the middle of his back. He’s relieved six ways to Sunday with Archie sighs with content.

“Jeez, Arch,” he says after a minute, “You’re tense.”

“Gotta lot to be stressed about,” Archie replies, tersely.

Joaquin doesn’t try and press him for answers after that; he keeps looking over his shoulder anxiously, halfway expecting one of the guards to walk by and start ridiculing him. He keeps working the muscles in Archie’s shoulders, moving further and further down his spine. It should feel weird. It should be weird as all _fuck_ and it’s miracle that Archie hasn’t pushed him away by now, but Joaquin’s willing to run with this as long as Archie is.

After a while, Archie hisses and jerks when Joaquin’s hand brushes too close to his left hip.

Joaquin stills in his tracks. “I thought you didn’t get hit there.”

“I didn’t,” Archie replies in his state of being half awake, “I got branded there.”

It’s obvious he hadn’t meant to say that because two seconds later Archie is reaching around for Joaquin’s hands, halting him from pulling up the edge of his shirt and inspecting the damage.

“Don’t,” he whispers, “Please just- don’t look.”

Joaquin nods even though Archie can’t see him. “Alright. I won’t look at it.”

He gets up, fully prepared to take this as his cue to go when Archie tightens the grip on his wrist pulling him back to the bed.

“No. _Stay_.” He says like it’s simple and easy. Like it makes _sense_.

Joaquin can’t really say no to that. He pushes at Archie until he shifts onto his side again, giving Joaquin access to lie down and press his chest to Archie’s back. Joaquin curls one of his arms into his chest and drapes the other across Archie’s midsection, careful to avoid his hip.

In the dark, Archie searches for Joaquin’s hand then links their fingers together and pulls Joaquin’s arm tighter around him.

Joaquin wonders if Archie can feel how fast his heart is beating since they’re pressed so close together. He hasn’t been touched this much in _months_ \- since well before he got locked up. Sharing such close space with Archie now feels both bizarre and like a breath of fresh air, like something he didn’t realize he’d been missing.

Archie drifts off within two minutes but Joaquin lies awake, too wired to sleep now. Archie’s next fight is tomorrow and Joaquin keeps thinking about the switchblade tucked under his mattress. He doesn’t want to use it. He doesn’t want to _hurt_ Archie- but if he’s going to ascend, if he’s ever going to get out of this place, then he doesn’t really have a choice.

Joaquin presses himself even closer to Archie, leaving a quick kiss on the knob of his neck and then tucks his head down into Archie’s shoulder.

_Maybe I’ll kiss him for real tomorrow,_ he thinks to himself, _maybe Archie won’t be mad at me for what I have to do. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll both make it out of this alive._

**Author's Note:**

> Needless to say, but I miss Joaquin.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos are appreciated and encouraged. Have a great day!


End file.
